The invention relates to electric toasters.
Electric toasters or so-called xe2x80x9cpop-up toastersxe2x80x9d are well-known and typically include timers or other devices to automatically turn off electrical power to heating elements at the end of each toasting cycle. At the same timer a spring biassed bread carriage is released inside the toaster to lift up the toast and cause the toast to xe2x80x9cpop-upxe2x80x9d and be removed for use. Commonly the opening of a switch and the mechanical release of a carriage hold-down catch are inter-related and so if the carriage jams, the power may be prevented from being turned OFF. This leads to the possibility of burning the toast and also creating a fire-hazard.
It is an object of the invention to overcome this problem.
According to the invention there is provided an electric pop-up toaster having a timer for timing each toasting cycle, a spring biassed carriage and a hold-down catch for retaining the carriage in a lower position for toasting, a power switch for heater elements of the toaster that is closed by the carriage whenever the carriage is in its lower position and opens when the carriage moves away, and an auxiliary power switch that is opened by the timer after the end of toasting cycles.
The timer may be arranged to open the auxiliary power switch and release the hold down catch simultaneously